Ampoule filling machine



March 6, 195] EMERY ETAL 2,544,416

AMPOULE FILLING MACHINE Filed Dec. 22, 1947 INVENTORS Ema/v f'ME/ey y War/v: Lanna Patented Mar. 6, 1951 Byron limery; Hayward, andFWayne L, Eider,

;Richm nd. Califi, assigno'rs to "C t foriiia uttefLabora- "*Applicatibn member 22,-194:7-, Sri'al -l\lo. 193160 This invention relates topandin general has for its object the provision of a machinefor fillingvials' with a predetermined quantity of vac- -'cine-such 9,5,f01 example, smallpox vaccine.

, 46mins. (crate-ire) cine vials II-having-closed upperends. The. vials 'I'I'areiheld -in cylindricalbundles each of..a diameter slightly less than the diameter of the holes I5,--by'coil springs I8, these springs also "jMore -specifically, the object of this invention serving as-means for suspending the vial bundles i's'the provision of a filling machine wherein a pan containing the vaccine is enclosed --under- -a bell jar wit-hone or-more inverted vials supported "immediately above the pan, and wherein means from the disc I3. Threaded to the disc I3 con- -centrically therewithis a hand grip or handle I9.

:Surrounding-thisassembly and seated on the table 5 is-a bell jar 2| provided-at its upper end are provided for-evacuating the bell jar-and vials, with a-hand le-fl. "Inaccordance with standard then immersing the -loweropen endsof the vials in the vaccine, and finally subjecting-the bell jar and-its contents to apredetermined difierential pressure bybonnecting the bell 1jar' witn-a sealed practice an air; tight-seal between the peripheral flange "of the belljar and the table '5 is obtained by coating the lower face of the flange with a --film of grease.

'fiask'containingair under'atmospheric pressure.1 -Mounted within the-cabinet I is aU-shaped The invention possesses "other advantageous features, some of which with the foregoing'will be set'forth atlength in the following description where that form of the invention which has been bra cket 23. andiournaled. thereto :is a. shaft 26. Keyed to the shaft 26 intermediatefits ends is a pinion-;- ar ranged to -mesh-with arack 26 formed onthe shaft j intermediate its ends. Also. keyed selected for illustration in the drawings accomtotheshaft- 2 l is a-gear'2l arranged .to mesh with panying and forming a part of the' present specification is outlined in full. In said drawings, one "form of the inventionis" shown 9 but it" isto be understood that it is not lifri *tdsuenrorm,

a pinion '28. 4 J ournaled 'in-.th instrument. panel '2 and thebrack'et 23 is. adriveshaft 29 provided at its outer end with. a crank 3|, the pinion 28 b'eingfastened'to the inner end of'thi's shaft.

since the i'rivention as set fdfth m the claims, he seen'fthat as. a result of this construcmay be embodied in a plurality of forms. .ifi fi i g tam rewin U ...;l." e-" 1 .1% free? 1e n"ef" a bodying'the objects of our invention with a port1on"'th'e' pan I0 can be raised and lowered by ply tlirnihg the- 3I 'in'the proper di- "fction.

Mounted within the cabinet I' is asmall pipe tion of its bell jar broken away, better to illus- 30 32, one end f W ch t d hr h the table 5 trate its construction.

Fig. 2 is a vertical mid-section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section of the bell jar taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic illustration of the vacuum system forming part of our machine.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a number of vials held in a cylindrical bundle by a coil spring retainer and ready for filling.

The machine shown in these various figures comprises a rectangular cabinet I including a control panel 2, a top ,3, and a rear wall 4. Mounted on the top 3 is a table 5 and associated with these members is a bearing 6. Journaled in the bearing 6 is a shaft I and mounted on the upper end thereof are four radially extending arms 8 having upwardly bent outer ends 9 which together serve as a support for a pan I0 containing a body I I of vaccine.

Seated on the table 5 is a rack generally designated by the reference numeral I2, and consisting of a disc I3 supported by feet I4. Formed throughout the area of this disc is a number of and communicates with the interior of the bell jar 2|, and the other end of which communicates with a pipe 33. The pipe 33 communicates at one end through a valve A with a suitable source of vacuum, and at its other end through a valve B with a jar 34 and with a valve C. The valve C is in turn connected through a pipe 35 and an air filter 36 with an intake 3? of atmospheric air. Communicating with the pipe 33 is a pressure gauge 38 mounted on the control panel I.

The operation of the machine above described is briefly as follows:

With the bell jar 2I and rack I2 removed, the pan I0 is partially filled with the desired vaccine. The rack I2 is loaded with bundles of inverted vials and placed in position over the pan I0. At this stage the pan I0 should, of course, be in its lowermost position so that the lower ends of the vials ar well above the vaccine level. This having been done, the control panel should be checked to be certain that valves B and C are in their closed positions. Following this, the bell jar 2| is sealed over the table 5, and the valve A opened so as to partially evacuate the bell jar and each holes I5 for the reception. of bundles I6 of vacof the vials I'I.

In the meantime the valve C has been opened a sufficient length of time to completely fill the jar 34 with filtered air under atmospheric pressure.

With the bell jar partially evacuated and the jar 34 under atmospheric pressure, the pan I is elevated so that the lower open ends of the vials I! are well below the level of the vaccine.

Following this, and with the valves A and C in their closed positions, the valve B is opened to permit air under atmospheric pressure from the jar 34 to flow into the bell jar 2| and to increase the pressure thereunder by a fixed, although not necessarily known amount. This increase in pressure will, of course, result in forcing vaccine up into each of the vials [7. Finally, the pan I0 is lowered so that the vaccine therein clears the lower ends of the vials and the valve C is opened, whereupon the vaccine is forced farther up each vial, due to the fact that it is under the influence of atmospheric pressure. The bell jar can then be removed and each vial flame sealed.

By resorting to this expedient, it becomes readily possible to uniformly fill each vial with a substantially predetermined quantity of vaccine without regard to exact degree to which the bell jar is evacuated. The important factor is that by the use of the jar 34, the differential pressure by which the vials are filled is always substantially constant, regardless of the degree to which the bell jar is initially evacuated. This difierential pressure, of course, depends upon the ratio between the volumetric capacity of the bell jar 2| and of jar 34, and can be readily varied by the use of jars 34 of different sizes.

We claim:

1. A machine ofthe character described comprising: a table; a bell jar seated on said table; a pan disposed over said table Within said bell jar; a rack suspended over said pan and arranged to hold a vial in inverted position within the confines of said pan; means for effecting relative vertical movement between said pan and said rack; means for partially evacuating said bell jar and said vial; and means for introducing into said bell jar a predetermined volume of air under a predetermined pressure.

2. A machine of the character described comprising: a table; a bell jar seated on said table; a pan disposed over said table within said bell jar; means for supporting a vial in inverted position within said bell jar over said pan; means for elevating said pan over the lower open end of said vial; means for partially evacuating said bell jar and said vial; and means for introducing into said bell jar a predetermined volume of air under atmospheric pressure.

3. A machine of the character described comprising: a table; a bell jar seated on said table; a pan disposed over said table within said bell jar; a rack seated on said table, said rack being arranged to support a vial in inverted position over said pan; means for elevating said pan to a level wherein its upper edge is above the lower open end of the vial; means for partially evacuating said bell jar and said vial; and means for introducing into said bell jar a predetermined volume of air under a predetermined known pressure.

4. A machine of the character described comprising: a table; a vertical shaft extending through said table; a pan supported on the upper end of said shaft; a rack seated on said table, said rack being arranged to support a bundle of inverted vials over said pan; a bell jar seated on said table over said pan and rack; means associated with said table for elevating said shaft and said pan; a container mounted beneath said table; means for connecting said bell jar with a source of reduced pressure; and means for selectively establishing communication between said container and a source of air under atmospheric pressure and between said container and said bell jar.

BYRON EMERY. WAYNE L. ELDER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Tenney Aug. '7, 1928 

